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Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Be a Kitchen Hero with Sainsbury's and win £50 shopping voucher

You may have noticed the new adverts on the telly for the by Sainsbury's range. I caught the one with the very cool super-slow version of Kylie's 'Can't get you out of my head' and never before have I wanted a sausage sandwich so much!

Sainsbury's have re-designed packaging and improved favourite products to launch their by Sainsbury's range, which covers more than 6,500 product ranges and is rolling out to stores nationwide.

To celebrate this, Sainsbury's have asked me to come up with my Kitchen Hero dish, and have challenged you to do the same. Featuring a store-cupboard essential, we all have a fail-safe, go-to recipe which we use time and again.

My Kitchen Hero product must be pasta. I always have dried pasta in the cupboard, and know that whatever else I have in the fridge, or times when I forget to get something out of the freezer, if I have pasta, I'll always be able to cook up a family meal.

The recipe I use most is this super-quick and tasty spaghetti with creamy cheese sauce and smoked salmon. I love it because it takes less than 5 minutes, the whole family are guaranteed to clear their plates, and I just adapt it to what I have in the fridge. Spaghetti is my favourite for this dish because it cooks so fast, but you can use any shape of pasta. I often use the better value salmon trimmings, or if I don't have salmon, add some lardons; bacon; chopped ham or tinned tuna. You can make it vegetarian too, and if there's been no fresh greenery in the fridge, I've been known to add a handful of frozen peas or sweetcorn instead.

You will need:

1 pack of soft cheese (I use Lacto free for my daughter, but any Philly style cheese will work)
You can add grated cheese of any variety that you happen to have in the fridge
Fresh spinachby Sainsbury's dried spaghetti
Smoked salmon

Boil the water and add the pasta with a pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil.

While that's cooking, melt the cheese in a separate pan. Add a splash of milk if it's too thick. Add any other grated cheese you have, and a twist of black pepper.

Add the spinach to the pasta water for the last minute of cooking.

Drain, then serve the pasta, topped with slices of smoked salmon, the wilted spinach and finally pour over the cheese sauce.

So now I'm turning the challenge over to you. I want you to comment below with your Kitchen Hero signature dish, telling me your family favourite meal using at least one of the by Sainsbury's staple products. Leave me a comment describing the dish or link to a blog post if you've already written about it.

A panel of judges from Sainsbury's will pick their favourite and the winner will be awarded £50 Sainsbury's shopping voucher. There's an extra entry if you tweet and spread the word. Please tweet "I'm entering @missielizzieb's #kitchenheroes challenge http://bit.ly/ZDAGNR" Leave another comment saying you've tweeted. Make sure you leave a method of contact such as your email or Twitter ID so we can contact the winner.

The competition will close at 12:00 midday on Tuesday 14th My 2013. The prize is fulfilled by Sainsbury's and they are responsible for the judging process.

Disclosure: This is a featured post. For more details please see my Disclosure page.

I use the 'Sainsbury's Long Grain Rice 250g' from the 'by' range when I have very little time and usually not much left in the fridge(!) to cook with. It's really handy because it's pre-cooked and I make my own version of firecracker rice with it:

Sainsbury's long grain rice1 x tin of coconut milk2 x Red peppers (long ones but the bell type will do if there's no choice, Orange coloured peppers also work well)2 x tomatoes2 tablespoons of Molasses of Muscovado sugar (more or less depending on whether we want it sweet or savoury)Cayenne pepper or Green chilli peppers (the amount depends on how chilli/hot we want the dish to be)Safflower oil (again the amount depends on personal taste)

This is a fried rice dish so again the fact that the rice is pre-cook really saves time as half the work is done.

Use a frying pan or wok - mix the rice with the coconut milk and sugar to make a rice pudding on high heat (sticky rice which is creamy but not too saucy like traditional rice pudding), should only take approx 10min max. Then add peppers and tomatoes (both sliced), stir with in with the cayenne or chopped chilli peppers, mix evenly and add a splash or two of safflower oil and fry for approx 5min.

It's ready to serve after that straight away or after being left to settle for 10min, some people also like it served with sliced fresh onions but that is for the members of the family who like really hot dishes.

It's got to be pasta with tomato sauce-cheap and healthy. I use Sainsburys tinned tomatoes and their wholemeal spaghetti. If I'm feeling flush I'll add some fresh basil or pesto. If funds are tight I'll add dried herbs. Add some bread and salad on the side-perfect!

I use the by Sainsburys tinned tomatoes for so many quick and easy dinners but the one which goes down the best is a tomato soup. I roast some onions, carrots and sweet potatoes in the oven until they're soft and starting to go charred around the edges. They're then tipped into a saucepan with two tins of chopped tomatoes, 300ml of stock, a tablespoon of sugar, a squeeze of tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Bring to boiling, turn down to a simmer and leave for 15-20 mins. Then blend with a handheld blender until smooth and serve with freshly baked crusty bread. Delicious!

I use the by Sainsburys tinned tomatoes for so many quick and easy dinners but the one which goes down the best is a tomato soup. I roast some onions, carrots and sweet potatoes in the oven until they're soft and starting to go charred around the edges. They're then tipped into a saucepan with two tins of chopped tomatoes, 300ml of stock, a tablespoon of sugar, a squeeze of tomato paste and a pinch of salt. Bring to boiling, turn down to a simmer and leave for 15-20 mins. Then blend with a handheld blender until smooth and serve with freshly baked crusty bread. Delicious!

Bacon hotpot is my favourite. Cube some potatoes, carrots & onions, add some chopped bacon a little pepper & water. Bring to the boil and cook until the veg is tender (add salt to taste at the end as the bacon could be salty)

Chicken thighs sprinkled with paprika, then fried off. Put in a casserole dish with stock and simmered whilst potatoes, carrots, and diced sweded boils.Potatoes, swede, and carrots mashed with a little milk and butter until smooth, and by then the chicken should just fall off the bone.Serve with smiles.

We call it carbonara however we've adapted the recipe so much it probably wouldn't be recognised by an Italian! But it works for our family.

I think all the ingredients we use, except one, are from Sainsbury's by. The exception is the ham which my husband cooks himself.

Chop the ham. Cook the pasta (we always use quick cook penne as my husband doesn't like spaghetti). In a liquidiser mix raw eggs, west country farmhouse cheddar and half fat creme freche. Drain the pasta. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix. Traditionally the heat of the pasta should cook the eggs, but we heat it slightly just to make sure. Mix in the ham.

First I would make the sauce, throwing chopped tinned tomatoes, lots of olive oil, basil and seasoning into a pan to simmer.Whilst the sauce is cooking I would fry some sliced aubergines that have been salted.When they are cooked I add them to the sauce and let them cook a little longer in the sauce.Finally I add the sauce to some Sainsbury's dried spaghetti, adding a little bit of the water and ensuring the spaghetti is cooked al dente.

Chicken Tikka Stir Fry Feeds about 3 people with these quantities and makes a lovely colourful, healthy, tasty meal

1/3 each of Red, Green and Orange or Yellow peppers sliced into strips1 small courgette sliced into ringsTablespoon and ½ peasTablespoon and ½ sweetcornCooked Chicken Tikka cut into small pieces(the above ingredients can be used from frozen if necessary)

Method Boil the rice in a saucepan, I normally add some tumeric or curry powder to the cooking water

In a large frying pan Fry courgette slices and sliced peppers till they are just beginning to brown Add the curry powder, Chicken Tikka, peas, sweetcorn and stir till heated through Add the sultanas and the rice and mix it all together. Serve.

This is even better eaten the following day as the curry flavour and tikka seasoning infuse the whole dish and the sultanas swell slightly absorbing the flavours of the cooking liquid

My Kitchen Hero product is Sainsburys Fusilli. I'm not that great in the kitchen so I would probably starve without it! For a really quick meal I like to use it with Sainsburys Tomato & Herb Pasta Sauce - really filling and tasty.

My kitchen hero product is sainsburys frozen king prawns. Can defrost them super quickly if I've forgotten to pick anything up for dinner. Usually have them with pasta and a cream cheese and sweet chilli sauce or just in a salad with a bit of sweet chilli drizzled over them, yum!

My kitchen hero is sainsburys chopped tomatoes. I love my recipe because anyone can do it - it is quite literally chucking a lot of food into a pan and mixing it up for approximately 20-30 minutes! You will see from the quantities that this makes a lot of food - I make a lot then save it for lunches and freeze some. Measurements are aproximate and the beauty is anything can be added according to your taste:

- 4-5 tins sainsburys chopped tomatos- 2 tins chickpeas- 2-3 tins of various beans (eg berlotti, butter, kidney, mixed)- 1 tin sweetcorn if I have it in the house- 2 tsps sainsburys hot chilli powder- liberal sprinkling of chilli flakes- garlic if desired- Optional - you can add a few fresh vegetables approximately 7 minutes before the end of cooking or a few frozen vegetables approximately 12 minutes before the end of cooking.- Optional - can add chorizo (ready cooked) a few minutes before the cooking time ends. This is handy if you are cooking for meateaters and vegetarians as the meal can be cooked then just add in chorizo at the end.

Basically, I throw all the above ingredients in a pan, mix up, bring to the boil then simmer for 20-30 mins - it is as simple as that! I add the veggies and chorizo nearer to the end as stated above, but apart from that it really is just throw it all in! I serve with buttered brown bread. A yummy, nutritious dish!

I love making a healthy breakfast by preparing the night before. I use porridge oats, mixed with frozen fruit and yogurt. When i wake up in the morning it has swelled to a lovely refreshing fruity breakfast!

The kids favourite is spaghetti bolognaise so we add extra canned plum tomatoes & vegetables to the ready made sauce & use the Sainsbury's spaghetti. We serve with garlic bread & mixed vegetables or side salad so the kids get their 5 a day.